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And the worst part?

Every second of it felt dangerously right.

Until—

Boom.

A sudden explosion of fireworks erupted outside the villa, loud and colourful, echoing through the chilly December night as the clock struck twelve. Cheers rang out across Serene Meadows as the neighbourhood just stepped into a new year. A fresh beginning. A clean slate.

The glow of fireworks from the sky filtered through the glass walls, painting the room in hues of gold, crimson, and soft champagne hues. And it was in that flash of clarity that reality crashed down around them.

Nandini, still breathless, still drunk on the feel of his lips, blinked up at him in stunned silence. Her heart pounded so wildly she could feel it in her fingertips, her pulse alive in every part of her body that had touched him. Her lips, slightly parted, still tingled as if they hadn’t fully moved on from the kiss yet.

And Shaurya…

Shaurya staggered back as if he had just been jolted awake from a dream that he never should have been in to begin with.

His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, his jaw clenched, his body stiff, but it was his eyes that gave him away. The same eyes that had only moments ago devoured her without apology now widened with something else entirely.

Recognition.

Shock.

Horror.

“F*ck,” he muttered, almost to himself, like the realisation had physically knocked the air out of him.

His gaze flicked down to her dress, her legs still dangling from the edge of his dining table, her hair messy, lips visibly swollen, and then back to her face.

“You?” he blurted, as if confirming the worst-case scenario out loud. “What areyoudoing in my house?”

Nandini scrambled off the table like she’d just touched a live wire, nearly tripping in her panic. Her heels hit the floor with a thud, and her dress caught on the edge as she yanked herself upright, flushed, red-faced, and wide-eyed. She couldn’t even meet his eyes.

Oh God.

She had just been kissed thoroughly, desperately by her grumpy, infuriating, emotionally unavailable neighbour?

And worse?

She’d kissed him back like she’d been waiting for it her entire life.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She clutched the edge of the table for balance, her breaths coming in shallow gasps, her brain still not functioning at full speed.

“I—I came here to talk to you,” she managed to say.

“Talk to me? Why?”

“You insulted Daadu in front of the whole neighbourhood. That’s why. I came to tell you it wasn’t okay.” She shot him a glare. “Your door was open. I didn’t know you weren’t home.”

“I thought—” she rushed on, words tumbling out, “I thought you were inside. Then the lights went out, the candles were too far, and I panicked. I climbed up on the table to grab one and—”

She faltered, her cheeks heating. “And then you showed up out of nowhere andkissedme. Don’t twist this like I’m the one who ambushed you on your own table.”

She jabbed a finger toward his chest. “What’s your excuse, Mr. I-Kiss-Whoever-I-See-In-My-House?”

Shaurya ran a hand through his hair, still trying to piece everything together. The wild look in his eyes was slowly replaced by something dangerously close to panic.